By Jonathan LePera
Special to BassFan
Scott Canterbury, one of the most skilled and consistent anglers on the FLW Tour, grew up on the Coosa River system in Alabama and it taught him a good deal about what to do when creek mouths come into play.
Fish Attractors
“Creek mouths are key any time of the year,” Canterbury says. “Any river systems with creek mouths that come into them are key because of current.”
With current, all good things happen, especially if there is a big eddy in the mouth of a creek. Kentucky Lake and Lake Guntersville, and most any Tennessee River lake, are key creek mouth fisheries.
“Sometimes, they’re will be a swirl and fish can sit in the eddy,” Canterbury added. “Shad run the sharp riverbanks and cut banks at the upper and lower mouths of the rivers. Fish sit in the creek mouths, not having to fight the current, and feed on that easy food source coming to them all the time.”
Timing it Out
Once early spring arrives, bass use those creeks to spawn and will stage in the mouths. Canterbury watches for a super warm rain that will heat up a creek into the 50s while the river still me be in the 42- to 46-degree range. As bass are cold blooded, they’ll stack up in there and feed.
Although outlawed in competition, the Alabama Rig is sometimes a viable tool as Canterbury can control its running depth more consistently than a crankbait or jerkbait.
Hefty, egg-filled bass stage in creek mouths before the spawn and return afterward to heal and feed. He relies on his Lowrance HDS-12 units to find the sweet spot.
“I’d rather see rock as fish are looking for a hard spot to set up on,” he said. “Resident fish want a tree. A laydown and a stump is huge as fish will rub their bellies against it as they get ready to spawn.”
Lowrance's new 3-D StructureScan will be a valuable tool when figuring out how fish are positioning in or near creek mouths.
As they shift to post-spawn, he’ll look for fish to set up on rocks and shell beds and stay for several weeks.
A jig fisherman at heart, he’ll use a ¾-oz. Dirty Jigs Tour Level skirted football jig to fish along hard bottom structure while covering water, but will also cast and flip his signature series jig believing it’ll come through brush better than most. His jig color choices range from crawfish to black/blue, hematoma and shades of pond bug. Canterbury pitches jigs within 6 feet of a bank or so, but only work it back the first 4 feet.
Hot weather brings the bass to the next ledge of the main river for food, cooler water, and current as it will possess more oxygen. This is the prime time to drag a big worm along the ledge. Early fall is where it’s at.
“I love fishing creek mouths because shad are starting to make their transition back into the back of creeks and bass follow the bait source,” Canterbury said.
Come winter, Canterbury finds fish in the channel of the creek but fish will be sitting in 10 to 12 feet. He’ll work the area with a Jackall Muscle Deep 10 crankbait and Jackall Squad Minnow 115 jerkbait, both in ghost minnow and super shad, but a crank in red craw can be deadly.
He fishes jerkbaits on P-Line CXX monofilament wanting his baits to truly suspend, believing that fluorocarbon will pull the bait down. He’s well aware that once fall becomes winter, his jerkbait will actually sink instead of suspend. He will sometimes opt for the deeper running Jackall DD Squirrel with a pause-and-go retrieve.
Geared Up
> Jerkbait gear: 7’ medium-action Halo Twilight casting rod, Ardent Apex Elite casting reel (6:5:1 gear ratio), 10-pound P-Line CXX fluorocarbon line, Jackall Squirrel DD and Jackall Squad Minnow 115.
> Crankbait Gear: 7’ medium-heavy Halo Twilight crankbait rod, same reel, 8- to 12-pound P-Line CXX fluorocarbon line, Jackall Muscle Deep 10 crankbait.
> Jig Gear: 7'3 heavy-action Halo Twilight heavy-action, Ardent's Apex Grand casting reel, 15- or 17-pound P-Line CXX line, 3/8- to 1-oz. Dirty Jigs Tour Level Skirted football Jig, Scott Canterbury Sig Series flipping jig (coming soon)
> Alabama Rig gear: 7'6” extra-heavy Halo Twilight casting rod, same reel as crankbait, 20- to 25-pound P-Line CXX line, Bruiser Baits Super Swimmer, Dirty Jig's swim bait heads (1/4- to 1/2-oz. heads on bottom, 1/8- or 3/16-oz. on top depending on depth).
